Am I the animal here, or is it you?

In the first Humanities class of my junior year, Rhetoric, our class discussed how to use our own voices to bring people together, divide opinions,and transcend conflict. In the third and final unit of this class, which is called Unite, we studied how rhetoric can be used to inspire and mobilize people. In order to understand this, the class looked at many different forms of artwork that expressed a message about an important issue. For the action project, the class was asked to study a specific social issue that is going on right now and try to bring awareness to that issue by creating some form of art that speaks to it. I decided to look into animal abuse, and I brought awareness to that issue by writing a poem. I already had a challenge when the project was introduced because I didn’t know what issue to study, but after doing some research, I finally chose animal abuse. It was hard for me to do research on this topic because I didn’t like reading the horrible statistics, but I’m also glad that I can use my words to bring attention to it. Thanks to this project and unit, I now know what it artistically takes to inspire a group of people in order to make a change on a specific issue. I hope you enjoy my artist's statement and poem below!

Artist’s Statement:
I’m RD and I’ve been an animal lover my entire life, so it was both easy and hard to write a poem about animal cruelty- easy because I have a natural admiration for animals, hard because I had to read all the horrible statistics about animal abuse. I really don’t understand what goes on in the minds of people who think that hurting an innocent, helpless animal is alright. These animals are coming into our life and all they are expecting from us is care and love.The HSUS led a study that estimated that nearly 1 million animals a year are abused or even killed as a result of problems going on in a household. If you know you won’t be able to care for an animal, please don’t let one into your home.

I also want to bring attention to the clothing that you put on your body. If you’re a person who wears fur, I just have one question: why? “More than 50% of fur in the US comes from China, where millions of dogs and cats are often bled to death and skinned alive for their fur” (Do Something.org). Do you really want to wear or support a brand that tortures animals just to look good or get big bucks? As you’re paying for these jackets, hats and other fur products, you’re handing money to the killers of the 50 million innocent animals who are violently murdered (Born Free USA). Animals love us no matter what, why can’t we do that too?

To raise more awareness on this issue, I decided to create an art piece from an animal's point of view. I really want to bring attention to the thoughts and emotions that these animals have, about which people often forget. I sat down and thought of all the different feelings that a person who is abused might experience.The only advantage that humans have is that we can talk and try to speak up, but animals cannot do that, which breaks my heart even more. There are many ads out there showing the cute animals that are victims of animal abuse, but we really do not bring attention to their thoughts and emotions, which is why I wrote a poem to do exactly that. If I had a choice as to where I would want my poem to be showcased, I would definitely print out tons of copies and stick them around animal shelters, pet stores and veterinarian offices to remind people about the importance of taking in an animal in their home, and how crucial it is to treat them right. I would also want my poem to start a new wave of anti-animal cruelty ads, where real, young people would speak up for animals, who sadly cannot do that themselves.

I included a great deal of pathos in my poem as I described the emotions and thoughts of these animals. I can also say that I added ethos because I have been around animals my entire life, so I know how much deep love animals actually have and how much deep love they also deserve. I would also say that my whole poem carries strong logos because it’s logical to not hurt an animal. Animals have feelings just like us, but some people still do not understand that. I hope you enjoy my poem below!

I want you to hold me in your arms, not put me in harm

I want you to care, but all you do is put me in a scare

I want you to stroke my neck, but instead you twist it

I want you to pet my fur, but instead you wear it

It looks better on me anyway

It kills me to see you raise up by the fall of my feathers

You brought me in and I was expecting love

But all I got was a million shoves

Now all I see from you is a boxing glove

Am I the animal here, or is it you?

Works cited:

"11 Facts About Animal Cruelty." 11 Facts About Animal Cruelty. Yahoo, n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.

"The Fur Industry." PETA. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2015

"Get The Facts:." Ten Fast Facts about Fur. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.

The White Lightning Bike.

In the first STEAM class of my junior year, Design and Engineering, we looked into all the different concepts that go into making a tool, and how people brought all these different ideas together to make something way better. In the second unit of this course, which is called Farther, the class looked into the history of the wheel and how gears work. We also studied how big of a deal the invention of the wheel was, because it helped with so many situations. For the action project, the class was assigned to come up with ways of improving a bike for a specific person and make a real model. The bike was a really big part of this unit, as we learned about the many different ways a bike comes in handy. My partner and I decided to go for a more modern design for our bike because the person we are designing for is pretty young. I honestly didn't know much about bikes, so this project was a bit challenging for me, but with the help of my partner and teacher I was able to get through that. I am proud of how my partner and I communicated throughout this project and how we would be there whenever one of us was having a hard time with any part. Thanks to this unit, I at least know a little bit more about bikes, and I also realized how important they really are. I hope you enjoy reading about The White Lighting below!

As I stated before, in this unit we learned about the wheel, and specifically how the wheel brought us to the bicycle. I first needed to do research on bikes before I started to work on my design because I wanted to know what was already out there and what wasn't. After all that work was done, I felt confident diving into this project.

The name of the user I got is Peter: he's 18, lives in Hyde Park and travels 11.5 miles going to school using the Lakefront bike path. Peter wants his bike to be fast, as well as comfortable because he has been having some issues with his back. Along with that, he struggles with carrying his backpack because it's too heavy, and he also has a hard time with his arms and legs because they get too tired quickly. Peter is also nervous about the security with his bike, because he has had past experiences of people stealing parts


As my partner and I were reading Peter's needs, we made sure to focus on the idea of comfort, especially because of his back and we also realized how far he has to travel. We don't want him to be hunched over, so we added a very comfortable seat with a padded back, but it still has the shape of a normal bike seat. That way it doesn't mess with him while pedaling his bike. We also added a retractable basket in the back, so he can put his heavy book bag in it. We figured Peter might be riding his bike late at night so we added some small LED lights on both of his wheels, so he can be very noticeable. His wheels would also be a mix between wheels you could find on a mountain bike and wheels you could find on a road bike. When it came to security we added a high tech ID handlebar that identifies you when you put your hands on the bar, and only if you're listed as one of the people that can ride the bike, the bike will be able to move. The bike also includes an attachable GPS. The whole bike is made out of carbon and the seat is made out of super soft foam, so it can weigh less and also be comfortable.


The benefit of this bike is that it gives people the reassurance that their bike is safe from thieves and that they don't have to worry about being uncomfortable while biking, because that is unacceptable. If you want a smooth, comfortable, and safe bike, then you need The White Lightning. My partner and I know the struggles of having to travel a large distance to and from a place everyday, and how hard it can be when our own bodies can’t really handle it all.

The White Lightning has tires with a diameter of 26 in. To find the circumference of this, I multiplied that by pi (3.14), which came out to be 81.62 in. Peter travels 11.5 miles to get to GCE, and Google maps estimated that it would take him 59 minutes if he rode on the Lakefront bike path. To find his average speed I divided the 11.5 miles by the product of the 59 minutes and 60, which came out to be .19 miles per minute or 11.69 miles per hour, which converts to 5.2 meters per second. Going off the circumference, my wheel has to rotate 8927.2 times in order to cover his 11.5 mile journey.


Peter is focused on speed so when it comes to gears, he has to get a big cog in the front and a smaller one in the back. I understood this well, because as I was interviewing my uncle, he mentioned that “younger people look for the faster bikes”. In terms of gear ratio, we could say the biggest gear has 53 teeth and the small gear has 13, so the gear ratio would be 13:53

Peter would have more kinetic energy when he is going down a hill, because that is when the most of the energy is being used. He demonstrates potential energy when he is stopped at top of a hill because his energy is not being used yet. 

Our wheel is 26 in, but our model wheel is 2.36 in, so the scale would be 26/2.36 or 11:1.

JV, RD. The White Lightning, 2015. 

I also hope you enjoy looking at our models below.

JV, RD. The White Lightning. 2015. 

JV, RD. The White Lighting. 2015. 

Exporing Ravenna Part 2

In the second project that was assigned in the Italian class, we were assigned to create a video about our city, rather than a slideshow. We were also assigned to do a voice over of us talking in Italian about the things we added in it. Below, the video has me explaining what I like to do in my freetime, and what I don't like to do, but in Italian. The video is also explaning the beauty that the city of Ravenna holds. I hope you enjoy it below!

Exploring Malala's Words.

In the first Humanities class of my junior year, Rhetoric, we are going over how to use our voices to bring people together, divide the opinions of people and transcend conflict. In the second unit of this course, which is called Challenge, the class went over how speakers use devices and many appeals to persuade their audience to be on their side. To get a better sense about this all, we read and listened to many speeches and practiced making annotations on these speeches. For the action project, the class was assigned to look into a speech and annotate it, along with looking for the many appeals and devices that the speaker included. I decided to look into a speech given by Malala Yousafzai. It was her first speech given since she was shot by the Taliban, so I knew there were going to be a lot of important messages, and I knew she was going to be smart about how she wrote/presented her speech. It was a challenge picking which speech of hers to pick, but after going through them, I thought this one was the strongest. I honestly was scared because of how long the speech is, but it was very well written and very informative, so this project not only helped me with improving my skills on annotation, but it also also informed me on the problems that Malala is addressing in her speech. I hope you enjoy my prezi presentation below!

Exploring Ravenna

 For my Health and Wellness course in the fall term, I am taking an Italian class for language credits. In this class, we are introduced to the basics of the Italian language. I enjoy coming to this class because I think the language is very interesting, and because I love learning about other countries and their cultures. Our Italian teacher wanted us to explore a city in Italy, and make a slide show out of it. I was assigned the city Ravenna. I have never heard of this city, so I was pretty excited to see the beauty that the city holds. Below I have a slideshow that shows the most unique and wonderful parts of the city. I hope you enjoy exploring!